Internal-combustion engine.



w. M. GRAY. INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE.

APPLICATIDN FILED APR. H, 1916- 1,2 2o,095. human. 20,- 1911.

KS m I I I 5:"- gY" v I I 1-;I 3 0 E 2 m m .l N I, 5 IF II N WALLACE M. GRAY, or'cmomiva'rr, oHIo'.

INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE.

Application filed April 11, 1916. Serial m). 96,496. 7

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, VVALLAOE M. GRAY, a. citizen of the United States, residing at Cincinnati, in the county of Hamilton'and State of Ohio, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Internal-Gom- .bustion Engines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in internal combustion engines. One of its 0bj ec-ts is to provide an improved engine of the two cycle type. Another object is to provide improved means to eject the products of combustion and to refill the cylinder with a combustible mixture and scavenge the cylinder at each stroke of the plunger.

' gine of lower speed and more readily conform, combination and arrangement all of trollable than is attainable in the four cycle type of engine, and therefore better adapted for marine and aviation purposes. Another object is to provide an engine capable of producing more power economically for a given weight of material in the engine. My invention also comprises certain details of which'will be fully set forth in the description of the accompanying drawings, in which: 3

Figure 1 is a central vertical section through a combustion engine embodying my invention, being a section on line 2 z of Fig. 2. 0

I Fig. 2 is a central vertical sect on on l1n e o o of Fig. l and illustrating another position of the parts.

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section through the cylinderon line a: w of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a horizontal section through the cylinder on line 3 3 of Flg. 1.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the preferred embodiment of my invention, which I have illustrated applied to 'a single cylinder, but any desired number of cylinders may be employed and connected to a single shaft. p

In the accompanying drawlngs A represents the crank casing or base of the machine. B represents the cylinder mounted thereon and 'D the main crank shaft which is journaled at opposite ends in the casing A. A plunger E is-pivotally connected to a link or pitman 2 which is journaled upon Another object isto provide an economical eninstance between the upper limit 4 and the lower ,limit 5. The plunger E is provided with piston rings 6 to provide a gas tight a joint with the inner wall of the cylinder.

Mounted in the cylinder above the plunger Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Mal; 20,191 r I the crank 3 of the'crank shaft D, aiid said plunger 1s adapted to' reciprocate lbetwe'en certa m limits within'the cylinder,- as for E is a supplemental plunger H Which loosely fits the cylinder Walls and is pro vided with a stem 0!; rod 7 which has'a close sliding fit in a central-perforation 8 axially through the plunger E, so that there is prac tically no leakage of gas to or from the cylinder through the perforation 8. Oil ports 8 serve to lubricate the rod 7 inthe perforation 8 from the splash system of the crank case. A lever 9 is rigidly connected "to an axle 10 'journaled in the casing A, and the free end of said lever is slottedand con nected by a pin 11 or similar means tothe I lower end of the rod 7 Within the casingA;

For this purpose the link or pitman'2 is preferably forked or divided at its upper end to provide space for the rod 7 and lever 9. A spring actuated plunger 12 seated in a housing14 attached'to casing A engages the lever 9 through the upper portion of its movement to hold the lever 9 in contact with its cam and to insure a perfect contact be at the upper limit of their strokes, and expelling-all of the gas. from between saidplungers before the gas is fired. A cam 17 is mounted upon a shaft 18 journaled in thetween the main and supplemental'plung'ers lever and with it the supplemental plunger, i

H. The cam 17 duringanother portion of its revolution frees itself from and moves out of the path of lever 9 leaving lever 9 and supplemental plunger H free to move with the main plunger E. The cylinder B is provided with a fuel supply. p'ort preferably comprising anannular recess or-passage 22 fromwhich a series of slots or ports 24 lead the fuel in gaseous form into the cylinden.

The chamber 22 and ports 24 shouldsbe of ample capacity-to quickly supply fuel to the cylinder. The 'ports- 24 are locateddirt-ictly' above the lower limit of movement ofplunger 'Efiand beiowone lower limit of 'znovement;:' 'of; the supplemental plunger H;

At the upper end the. cyl inderis provided upper limit for movement of the plunger H,

An exit valve 26 preferably of ample capacity and preferably located and seat ing against the cylinder head is provided to relieve the pressure in the cylinder and permit the spent or burnt gases to escape into the chamber 27 and thenceto the atmosphere. As illustrated the valve 26 spring controlled to close it, is opened by means of a tappet lever 28 one end of which is pivotally connected to the cylinder and the opposite end is connected to a rod 29 which. leads to and is actuated by a cam carried by the shaft 18 outside vof the casing Aw If desired, however, the exit valve may be positively operated, or opened and closed in synchronism with the movements of the crank shaft by any suitable valve actuating mechanism.

The upper limit of movement of the supplemental plunger H is indicated by 30 and the lower limit of its movement, when the lever 9 rests upon the hub of cam 1"? is indicated by 31' v r ln operation on the downward stroke of .ehe plungers, before. the "plunger H reaches its lower limit I of, movement, the valve 26 opens and relieves the cylinder from pressure. The hub of Learn 17 then en- 35 gages lever 9 to limit the downward movement of plunger H, with the plunger H close to and above the inlet ports 24. When the plunger H reaches its lower limit of movement the crank center 3 of the so plunger E is in position to intersect with dotted line '1', and as the crank shaft continues to-move the two plungers separate and plunger E moves down at a relatively 7 slower rate of speed to uncover the inlet ports I soon as plunger E commences to 1111- cover the inlet ports 24 the cam 17 commences to act on the lever 9 and causes the supplemental plunger H to rise quickly to the position Fig. 1, which is near the upper limit of its stroke, thereby expelling nearly all of the burnt gases and drawing in, in its rear a fresh charge of combustible gas. The plunger H comes practically to rest opposite the raceways 25 as illustrated in F ig. 1 until the main plunger E moves upward and closes the inlet ports, which it continuously covers until its return stroke, and compresses the charge which forces the combustible gases above plunger H and 1n position to be ignited at the. spark plug 34.- The plunger E continues to rise untll 1t finally expels all the gases from between the plungers and overtakes the plunger II 66' which is then carried forward by and on Lae oee the upper face of plunger E to the upper linnt of movement oi the respective plungers, when the compressed charge is fired and the two plungers move downwardly together, being driven by the energy of the 70 exploded gas, to a point where the exit valve is opened and the pressure relieved, when the two plunger-s again separate as above described ready to repeat the operation.

The mechanism herein illustrated and described is capable of considerable modification without departing from the principle of my invention,

1 Having described my invention, what I claim is:v u

1. In a two cycle internal combustion engine, a cylinder having an inlet port near one limit of the plunger movement and an exit port near the opposite limit of the plunger movement, a main plunger connectcd to a crank shaft and having a reciprocating movement in said cylinder to open and close said inlet port, a valveless supplemental reciprocating plunger movable away from said main plunger when said inlet port is uncovered by the main plunger to eject the spent gas. and to introduce fresh combustible gas in advance of the main plunger at each cycle of movement thereof, and ports in the cylinder wall at one end thereof to enable the fresh charge to pass said supplemental plunger.

2. In a two cycle internal combustion engine a cylinder having inlet and exit ports located near opposite limits of the plunger movement, a main reciprocating plunger, a valveless supplemental reciprocating plunger movable independently of said main plunger'throug'h. a portion'of the cycle of movement of said main plunger to eject the spent gases from the cylinder and introduce a fresh charge of combustible gas into the cylinder in advance-of the forward movement of the main plunger, and means at one end of the cylinder to pass the fresh charge around said supplemental plunger.

8. In a two cycle internal combustion engine a cylinder having an inlet port near one limit of. the plunger movement and an exit port and b y-pass ports near the opposite limit of the plunger movement,.a main reciprocating plunger, and a light weight valveless supplemental reciprocating plunger movable independently of said main plunger through a portion of the cycle of movement of said main plunger to eject the spent gases from the cylinder; and introduce a fresh charge ofcombustiblc gas into the 03 1- inder in advance of the forward movement of the main plunger. p 4. In a two cycle internal combustion engine, a cylinder-having an inlet port near one limit of the plunger movement and an exitport and by-pas's poi-ts near the, opposite limit of the plunger movement, a main 130 'ciprocating supplemental plunger 1n the opposite direc reciprocatlng plnnger to cover and uncover said inlet port, a valveless supplemental replunger, and means to drive sa-id tion to that of the main plunger through a portion of the cycle of movement of said mam plunger to eject the spent gases from the cylinder and to introduce a fresh charge of combustible-gas in advance-of the: mainplunger. t

In testimony vwhereof 013mm; {liked my signature in thevpresencefo ftwgowitnes'ses. WALLACE GRAY.

Witnesses:

C. W. THORNTON ,BOGERT. 

